At present, the Imaging Core of the Center for Cardiovascular Research houses one Olympus laser scanning[unreadable] confocal microscope (Fluoview FV300) equipped with Krypton, Argon and He/Ne lasers for confocal microscopy[unreadable] and Mercury and Halogen lamps for epifluorescence and DIC/phase contrast/bright field microscopy, respectively.[unreadable] The confocal unit is mounted on an inverted Olympus microscope (1X70) with a universal high NA condenser. For[unreadable] capturing non-confocal images, a Spot CCD camera is used. This confocal microscope will be used for the[unreadable] proposed PPG projects.[unreadable] There is an up-right Olympus microscope (BX51) for epifluorescence, phase contrast, and DIC[unreadable] observations. The scope is also equipped with a Spot CCD camera. This scope is used for routine[unreadable] immunofluorescence observations, especially for en face analyses of immunostained endothelial tissue.[unreadable] Specimens for immunofluorescence microscopy are prepared by individual investigators. Technical[unreadable] suggestions and advice are given to them, such as fixation and staining conditions, blocking, and mounting. Data[unreadable] acquisition is done with the help of the Core Director and an assistant using a TV monitor. Those who wish to use[unreadable] the scopes by themselves are given instructions by the Core Director.[unreadable] MCID Elite 6.0 (Imaging Research Inc.) is available for the studies proposed in this application. The[unreadable] software is capable of performing various forms of image analyses such as image enhancement, image processing[unreadable] and editing, and 3D reconstruction. It has also functions that are quantitative such as profiling (vertical, horizontal,[unreadable] rotatable, and user-traced lane definition), stereology for unbiased morphological measurements and quantification,[unreadable] and grain counting. The grain counting mode is applicable to cells, grains, organelles, and other discrete objects.[unreadable] Valid targets are discriminated from background based on their intensity, color and spatial criteria.